warning registry activity

[Kaja]

Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not
suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my
computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing
problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used
these programs and they messed up my computer bad. The registry is basically
a database of files and has nothing to do with speed I learned later.
Microsoft reccomends only advanced users alter it and MS has their own
editing program for advanced users. Windows has buil in tools to speed up
your computer which are reliable and safe. See this article:
http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx
Hope this helps someone else.
Kaja

 

[Elmo]

Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not
suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my
computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing
problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used
these programs and they messed up my computer bad. The registry is basically
a database of files and has nothing to do with speed I learned later.
Microsoft recommends only advanced users alter it and MS has their own
editing program for advanced users. Windows has built-in tools to speed up
your computer which are reliable and safe. See this article:
http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx
Hope this helps someone else.
Kaja

It's doubtful SpyBot S&D was the cause; its function is to scan for
spyware and remove, inoculate you to prevent some spyware, and it even
finds some other malware such as an occasional virus or the like.

 

[MowGreen [MVP]]

It's doubtful SpyBot S&D was the cause; its function is to scan for
spyware and remove, inoculate you to prevent some spyware, and it even
finds some other malware such as an occasional virus or the like.

That's IF Spybot was only used to remove malwares. There are other
functions of it that can lead to issues in the hands of a novice.
Such as Process List, System Internals [reg checker], and/or System Startup.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not
suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my
computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing
problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used
these programs and they messed up my computer bad.

I've no doubt that all of your troubles can be laid at the feet of
RegCure. No registry "cleaner" does anything useful, and they all carry
a risk of causing damage, as you've learned, first-hand.

However, it's highly unlikely (though admittedly not impossible) that
SpyBot Search & Destroy did any damage.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of SpyBot
now has a registry cleaner and some other tools that cause me concern (I'd
never use them), besides Tea-Timer (a drag on performance), SDHelper and
Immunize, which I also shy away from. I install SpyBot S&D with no add-ons.
I run Spybot strictly as an on-demand scanner and use it for nothing else.

 

[Lil' Dave]

Whether you are seasoned veteran at registry mods, or, a newbie letting some
registry mod program do its thing, you have to have full backup of the OS
partition before proceeding. Many people use an image backup application
for the backup. Along with that, some registry mods may not be visible for
sometime for one reason or the other. In that case, you need the image
backup at the time, AND, any changes of data and settings since that point.
That's when it get's hairy at the least. For that reason, I don't recommend
registry mod/cleaning programs.

--
Dave

Bailout: Friend, relative, business acquaintance
paying a sum to get the accused
out of jail until court is ready to proceed.

Bailout: U.S. taxpayers paying a sum of
money for some critical business failure
that was fleecing the taxpayer to begin
with.
Somehow, the word "bailout" seems
very different.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of SpyBot
now has a registry cleaner .....

Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending
its use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have just
lost all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".





--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Ron Badour]

Bruce and Gary,

I don't think it is a registry cleaner per se. One of the elements that can
be optionally installed is the Tea Timer and it gives a choice on whether or
not to allow registry changes. See the FAQ here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/33.html

Like Gary, I don't like either feature and just use malware detection. I
found the SDhelper option was blocking a user from using the Pogo game site
and this was not at all obvious when I first started looking into the
problem. I stumbled upon the answer after troubleshooting for about an
hour. Pogo had no info on it so I sent them an email about the solution.
--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP
Windows Desktop Experience

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Set it for Advanced Mode, a set of menus will appear at far bottom left. In
Tools, it's called System Internals. Limited functions compared to most
Registry Cleaners, and selecting only certain items is a PITA, but it does
allow you to Export the REG keys before fixing.

 

[Twayne]

Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending
its use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have
just lost all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

lol, boy, does that say a lot about you! Based on one person's
interpretation of something, without even checking it yourself, you ban
something and say it lost all credibility (meaning with YOU, but you
left that out).
Talk about loss of credibility! Your closed mind is much easier to
understand in this new light; you're strictly a follower!

How do you stand it, knowing that your registry is constantly being
written to, and organized by, just simple use of your computer? Can I
assume you have your registry files all set for read-only? I don't
think so! You should grab a registry monitor and watch your registry at
work someday - odds are great you'll be very surprised.
I'd suggest you must use nothing but VB6 apps (which still write to
the registry, just much less) but then I see you use MOZ FF and a
couple others too, so ... even FF writes to the registry for its
location id.

What a chowderhead

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Set it for Advanced Mode, a set of menus will appear at far bottom left. In
Tools, it's called System Internals. Limited functions compared to most
Registry Cleaners, and selecting only certain items is a PITA, but it does
allow you to Export the REG keys before fixing.

Interesting. I hadn't noticed that before. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Anyone who has ever had to fix or even rebuild a computer after their client
tried some various Registry Cleaner, etc., based upon advertising on the
internet, knows what dangerous (and potentially very expensive) crap they
are. You, of course, are a total idiot, so you know nothing.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

lol, boy, does that say a lot about you! Based on one person's
interpretation of something,....

Ah! But that "one person" is someone I've met, and whose technical
experience and knowledge, which I've come to respect over the years, has
been proven, time and time again. His assessments can be trusted.

... without even checking it yourself,

Who said I didn't check it out for myself? Oh, that's right, you said
it. Unfortunately, you've already amply demonstrated exactly how
tenuous your grasp of reality is.

you ban
something ....

I "banned" nothing. I said I would stop recommending it. Reading
comprehension isn't one of your strong suits, is it?

and say it lost all credibility (meaning with YOU, but you
left that out).

I "left it out" because to include it would have been redundant. Why
state the obvious? I mean, it's not like I'm posting for _your_ benefit.

Talk about loss of credibility! Your closed mind is much easier to
understand in this new light; you're strictly a follower!

Ah! Of course. Your usual technical discussion: resort immediately to
name-calling.

How do you stand it, knowing that your registry is constantly being
written to, and organized by, just simple use of your computer?

Er...., Hello? That's what it's designed to do. So what?

Can I
assume you have your registry files all set for read-only? I don't
think so!

You can assume anything you like, particularly since you seem unusually
adverse to facts and/or actual knowledge.

You should grab a registry monitor and watch your registry at
work someday - odds are great you'll be very surprised.

Hardly.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

I didn't really read the previous. The below is, well.....
ROTFLMAOPIMP!!!!!!

Owwwww!!! It hurts my head! How can anyone that stupid even FIND the
newsgroups?